The invention relates to an arrangement and a method for producing a composite material component, in particular a composite material aircraft component.
For producing aircraft components from fiber-reinforced composite materials, a vacuum infusion process or a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (RTM) process may be used. DE 10 2008 054 540 A1 describes a method for manufacturing an aircraft component comprising a stiffening element such as, for example, a stringer and a shell element from a fiber-reinforced composite material. In the method according to DE 10 2008 054 540 A1, semi-finished parts in the form of fiber prepregs are connected to each other, wherein a tube core made of a multilayer plastic foil material is inserted into a cavity formed between the semi-finished parts. The arrangement comprising the semi-finished parts and the tube core is enveloped by a vacuum bagging material setup consisting of a release film, a venting layer made of a polyamide fleece material and a vacuum foil and is introduced into an autoclave, wherein the resin material contained in the fiber prepregs is cured under an elevated pressure and/or an elevated temperature. During the autoclave process, an interior of the tube core is pressurized with ambient autoclave atmosphere such that the tube core provides for the application of an elevated pressure also upon surface portions of the semi-finished parts which face towards an interior of the cavity formed between the semi-finished parts. The tube core employed in the method for manufacturing an aircraft component according to DE 10 2008 054 540 A1 is manufactured in a thermoforming process described in DE 10 2008 054 544 A1 and US 2010/0151169 A1.